Means for anchoring a door in a set position



H. G. RABER March 8, 1955 MEANS FOR ANCHORING A DOOR IN A SET POSITIONFiled March 24, 1954 Harold 6. Haber INVENTOR.

V 9 BY and fiM u engaging contact with the floor,

United States Patent() MEANS FOR ANCHORING A DOOR IN A SET POSITIONHarold G. Raber, Oxnard, Calif. Application March 24, 1954, Serial No.418,400 2 Claims. (Cl. 292-288) The present invention relates to animproved structural device or means which is expressly designed andeffectually usable in retaining a horizontally swingable door in a setposition by anchoring the lower edge portion of the door to aconventional horizontal floor surface, whereby the door, thus held, maybe handily and effectually sanded and painted by a painter, have holesbored therein by a carpenter for mounting a lock, or merely be caused tostay put and thus prevented from being accidentally closed by wind,children or the like.

It is realized, of course, that the art to which the invention relatesinvokes the adoption and use of all sorts of chocks, so-called doorstops and checks, anchors, etc. It is also customary practice whenconstruction work is going on and doors are being painted, to find thepainters and carpenters shoving wedge blocks, chisels, screwdrivers andthe like between the bottom of the door and the floor, often damagin ofcourse, the floor surface. The obvious object of the instant inventionis to structurally, functionally and otherwise improve upon similarlyconstructed and performing door stops and anchors and, in so doing, toprovide a construction in which manufacturers, home owners, carpenters,painters and others will find their respective requirements and needsaptly taken into consideration and appropriately met.

Briefly summarized, the inventive concept has to do with the combinationof a stationary horizontal floor, a vertically hinged door having alower edge swingable in a horizontal plane above the surface of saidfloor, a door anchor interposed between said edge and surface andsecured to said edge, said anchor embodying compressibly resilient shoespressed into friction-retained contact with said floor surface onopposite sides of said door, and a flexibly resilient band situatedbetween said shoes and having a portion flexed and wedged intofriction-bound contact with said floor surface directly underneath ofsaid door edge.

Novelty is also predicated on an attachment-type anchor which can beeasily slipped into the limited space between a door and floor andwherein after the device is positioned, the mere turning of setscrewsserves to effectively fasten the device to the door.

More specifically, novelty is predicated on an attachment for a doorwhich is characterized by an anchor unit embodying a plate to underliethe lower edge portion of the door, said plate being provided withshoulderforming blocks which are attached to and project beyond the endsof the plate and which are provided at their outer ends with frictionshoes to rest in proper friction the plate having a spur or anchor toembed itself in the door, and there being a flat spring underlying theplate and blocks, and setscrews carried by the blocks and engageablewith the spring for purposes of flexing and thus bowing the spring sothat it may be convexed to cause the central portion thereof to bindfirmly against a cooperating floor surface.

Other objects, features and advantages will become more readily apparentfrom the accompanying sheet of illustrative drawings.

In the drawings, wherein like numerals are employed to designate likeparts throughout the views:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a door anchoring device constructed inaccordance with the principles of the present invention and showing themanner in which the same is constructed and adapted to be used;

Figure 2 is a view in section, with parts in elevation,

, 2,703,728 Patented Mar. 8, 1955 taken on the plane of the line 2-2 inthe direction of the arrows; and

Figure'3 is a cross-section on the vertical line 33 of Figure 1, lookingin the direction of the arrows.

Referring now to the drawings with the aid of reference numerals andaccompanying lead lines, and with respect to Figure 2, the surface ofthe floor or other equivalent horizontal foundation is denoted by thenumeral 4 and the door, which is conventional, is denoted by the numeral6. The door is one which is vertically hung and swings in a horizontalplane on a vertical axis by way of the usual hinges (not shown). Thelower edge of the door, which is here involved, is denoted by thenumeral 8. It is in the space between the lower edge portion 8 and thefloor surface 4 that the anchor device is inserted and thus installedfor use. The device may be considered as one which is actually fastenedto the door with portions projecting beyond the opposite side surfacesof the door and engageable with the floor. It seems simple, from astandpoint of descriptiveness, to treat the invention either incombination with the door and floor, or, as the subcombination, in theform of an attachment. In either event, the over-all structure may besaid to include an anchor or an equivalent device, the unitary part ofwhich is denoted by the numeral 10. This unit is actually made up ofseveral components which, when assembled, may be treated in a unitarysense. By preference, there is a metal or equivalent substantially flatplate 12, and this is applied against the lower edge of the door and isactually secured to the door by way of a pointed prong 'or an equivalentheaded fastener which is here denoted by the numeral 14. The ends of theplate project beyond the surfaces of the door where they are providedwith outstanding duplicate components which are conveniently referred toas wooden or equivalent blocks 16-16. These have their lower surfacesflat and somewhat coplanar with the plate and their upper surfacesconvex, with the inner ends spaced apart to provide stops or shoulders1818 with the door occupying the space between the shoulders. The outerend portions of the blocks are thinned out, as at 20, and aresuperimposed on and riveted or otherwise secured, as at 22, tocompressibly resilient flat-bottomed shoes, the latter denoted by thenumerals 24-24. Actually, each shoe is a compressibly resilient rubberbody or block, the upper surface of which is recessed with the recesssurrounded by a marginal bead 26 and the thinned end or extension 20 isseated in the recess and secured in place by the fasteners or rivets 22.

There is, in addition to the unit or means 10, a complemental unit whichis denoted, conveniently, by the numeral 28. This is a band or may bemore specifically described as a flat-faced flexibly resilient leafspring. It is of a length so that the respective end portions 3t)30 areinterposed between the shoes 24-24 and terminal end portions 20 andsecured in place by the same rivets or fasteners 22. This is what may bedescribed as a bowable leaf spring. It is sufliciently loose that thecentral portion thereof may be flexed toward and from the plate 12. Thebottom of this portion has a patch of rubber or the like 32 which isadapted to serve not only as a protector for the floor surface, but alsoprovides the desired friction-retained contact between the spring andthe floor surface.

The inherent resiliency of the leaf spring is such that the normaltendency of the spring is to straighten out and thus present itself inclose proximity to the plate. Therefore, in order to bow the spring tothe downwardly convexed retaining position shown in Figure 2, it isnecessary to use mechanical aids. Each so-called aid takes the form of asetscrew 34 which is threaded through a bushing diagonally anchored inthe intermediate portion of the block 16, in the manner shown, saidbushing denoted by the numeral 36. The lower end portion of the screw,as at 38, engages the spring on one side of the center portion of thespring, and the upper end of the setscrew is provided with a finger grip40. By turning the setscrews down and forcing the flexible spring downto bowed or convex form, not only does the rubber pad of Figure 1,looking 32 engage the floor but also, the cooperation of the setscrewsand spring forces the entire unit 10 upwardly and applies sufficientforce that the pointed attaching prong 14 is forced and embedded in thelower edge portion of the door. Thus, in practice, the device is fiat,and the setscrews are loose or backed out and the spring 28 is close tothe unit 10. Then, the device is slipped between the door and the floor.The setscrews are now tightened in order to force the spring down toconvex form and to drive the prong 14 into the door with the door seatedbetween the respective adjacent shoulders 1818. By actually mechanicallyattaching the unit 10 to the door and forcing the shoes 2424 down firmlyagainst the floor, a reliable door anchor is had. The door will stay putin order that the carpenter, painter or other person may be sure that itwill be retained in a steady, nonswinging position, as may be desired.The invention is applicable for use by painters, carpenters, and othermechanics. It can be employed in the home merely to serve as a door stopor check and to keep the wind from blowing the door to a closedposition.

From the foregoing, the construction and operation of the device will bereadily understood and further explanation is believed to beunnecessary. However, since numerous modifications and changes willreadily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limitthe invention to the exact construction described and shown, andaccordingly, all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resortedto, falling within the scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed as new is as follows:

1. Means for anchoring a door in a fixed position, an attachment for thestated door comprising an anchor unit embodying a plate to underlie thelower edge portion of the door, said plate provided with shoulderforming blocks and an attaching prong attachable to the lower edgeportion of the stated door, said blocks being provided at theirrespective outer ends with friction shoes engageable with a floorsurface, and a leaf spring situated between said shoes and having anintermediate portion arcuately bowed downwardly, and means for bowingand forcibly pressing said intermediate portion into non-slippingcontact with said floor surface.

2. An anchor attachment for the lower edge portion of a door and whichis adapted to be inserted in the space between the floor and doorcomprising a longitudinally elongated anchor unit emboding a centrallydisposed plate to underlie the lower edge portion of the door, saidplate being provided with a central prong adapted to be embedded in thedoor so that end portions of the plate project beyond opposite sideportions of the door, a pair of elongate blocks secured at their innerends to the end portions of the plate and providing spaced shoulders,compressibly resilient shoes fastened to the outer ends of the blocks, alongitudinally bowable leaf spring secured at its respective ends to theshoes and having its intermediate portion movable toward and from thefloor surface, and setscrews carried by the respective blocks and havingend portions engageable with said spring.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS433,239 Harmer July 29, 1890 701,431 Watts June 22, 1902 1,664,174Hoopes Mar. 27, 1928

